Morning came up gray and slow over the water. Michael woke to the smell of something cooking and found Rosita by the kitchen heating up some easy to cook canned meals.
"How was last night's watch?" Michael asked, stretching out the stiffness on his back.
"It was boring." Rosita didn't look up from the can. "Though I think it's also a good thing that nothing happened since it would have been a tiring night."
Jack came down the stairs a few minutes later, hair sticking up on one side, rubbing at his eyes like the night had cost him more than it should have. "The beds here are really soft. I wish we could bring them back with us."
"There's a lot of malls in Atlanta. Just get one from there when we get back." Michonne said while coming from the back door and into the kitchen
"Ohh, that thought never crossed my mind." Jack crossed his arms and leaned on the wall.
"Anyway, that herd last night was really nerve wracking. I thought we wouldn't have a peaceful time last night."
"Well,nobody here was dumb enough to deliberately attract their attention, right? " Rosita said as she served the pan on the island counter. There are hotdogs, sausages and spam served for their breakfast.
Everyone took their seats one by one around the counter.
"Are we leaving right after this?" Jack asked as he sat down beside Michael.
"I think so, but first we need to secure a car. I don't want to walk everywhere. It'll just waste our energy and slow us down. Right?" Rosita replied while taking a bite of a hotdog. She was looking at Michael.
Michael nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Unfortunately, that car in the garage is not working. So we'll need to spend some time looking for one that still runs."
"Then let's look for a Toyota. They are very durable and reliable." Rosita suggested. She had extensive knowledge of cars since she had worked as a mechanic for a considerable time.
"Let's take a pick up truck so we can carry our things easier." Jack added
Michonne on the other hand, just ate in silence while listening to them.
They ate without rushing, passing around the can of beans Rosita had heated earlier. For once, nobody seemed concerned about moving immediately. A slow morning wasn't such a bad thing.
"Do you think it's really possible for the Florida National Guard to have built a stronghold here?" Jack asked. He was already briefed before about the purpose of their travel down south, but he still can't help but feel skeptical since they never really encountered even a fragment of the previous government during their nomadic life.
"We've been to a lot of places. Aside from the few police officers we've encountered, we haven't seen even a shadow of the old government." Jack added.
"There was one, though. That survivor base in Texas, the one being run by that small army contingent we encountered before." Rosita replied as she remembered those soldiers they met back then.
"The question is, are they still alive? Hasn't it been a while since you guys separated from them?" Jack shrugged.
"I'm sure they're still alive. They would have sent their chopper if they needed our help." Michael was confident that the community was still standing strong. This belief wasn't only because of the weapons they looted back then, but that sturdy wall surrounding that base.
"They have one? It would be great if we also have our own. Wait, couldn't we have tried our luck to Fort Benning first before making our way here?" Jack was calmly responding at first before he had a sudden moment of realization.
Michael flinched at the thought. Somehow, that possibility had never occurred to him. Michonne looked at him, the same was true for Rosita.
"Don't give me that look. You also never thought of that."
"Damn, It would have made things easier." Rosita said, resting her cheek on her fist.
"Flying one would have been a great experience."
"You know how to fly one?"
"No."
".."
After breakfast, the group left the house and began searching the surrounding area for a working vehicle.
They moved together, never straying too far from one another. Nobody suggested splitting up since there was little reason to take the unnecessary risk.
The search took a while, but they eventually found one a kilometer down the road.
"It's not a truck, but I found one that still runs." Jack quickly radioed everyone. Michael and the rest who are nearby quickly made their way to his location, and heard the soft rumble of an engine when they got nearer.
They found Jack standing inside a garage beside a silver SUV with its engine running, but from the sound of it, it's certainly not in a healthy condition.
"More work for me huh?" Rosita immediately said when she realized she was the better mechanic among them.
"Well, you're the expert. We could also look for something better, but I doubt they would be any better than this one." Jack smiled and stepped aside, leaving the SUV to the expert.
While Rosita was busy with the car, Michael and Jack went inside the house to look for anything of value while Michonne stayed with Rosita.
The house was not particularly special. It was a house probably made around the 1950s, single story, fading white walls, a dark gray roof and has a small porch on one side. There were wind chimes made of old shells by the front door, clinking faintly against each other.
Jack grabbed the doorknob and turned it. It was open. He lightly pushed it and stepped inside. Michael followed behind him.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Jack rapped his knuckles against the door several times to attract whatever was hiding inside. For the following seconds, there was only silence aside from Michael's boot scraping against the floor.
"Seems clear." Jack said to Michael.
"That wind chime has been making noise the whole time. If there was a walker hiding in here, it would've probably reacted to it." Michael replied while opening the drawers in the kitchen.
"So they react to everything huh." Jack said and started checking into the bedrooms.
"Yeah. That's why humans are still persisting despite the odds. Though their attraction to noise is what makes them really dangerous because enough of them will eventually converge and form a herd."
"Unfortunately, there's no standing army anymore. A huge herd would be the easiest thing to hit with heavy weapons. Imagine dropping a few bombs right in the middle of them." Jack felt a little excited while thinking of dropping several bombs in the middle of a large walker herd.
Michael couldn't help but grin. The thought of it gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
"Yeah. That actually sounds awesome."